EU: Door Still Open for Amicable Solution to China Solar Panel Dispute - Wall Street Journal

By Laurence Norman BRUSSELS--The number one goal of the European Union's executive is to find a negotiated solution to its dispute with China over solar panel imports, a spokesman for EU Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht said Tuesday. Facing growing member state unrest over a plan to slap tariffs of up to 67.9% on Chinese producers of solar panels, solar cells and silicon wafers, the spokesman, John Clancy, said: "Let me just underline the fact that our ambition is the same as" that of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "We want to find a negotiated solution. That is our number one aim," said Mr. Clancy. On Sunday, Ms. Merkel said Germany will use its influence to ensure that permanent import tariffs aren't imposed. Mr. Clancy said that Mr. de Gucht "will not be intimidated" in carrying out his legal duty of responding to concerns about Chinese dumping of solar panels. The EU faces a deadline of June 6 to decide on provisional duties, which can last for six months. The European Commission will "take the necessary steps, within the proper legal channels...to counter any kind of illegal dumping when there is clear evidence of it." Mr. Clancy said China will have to give "price undertakings" to re-create a level playing field as part of any future settlement. He played down the concerns of member states about taking the case forward. At this stage, member states only have an advisory role and the Commission must decide on imposing the tariffs. Mr. Clancy said there have been similarly divergent opinions in some previous EU trade defense cases. Any decision on whether to proceed with provisional tariffs would take account of the "overall impact on the economic community." "The door is still open and we look forward to our Chinese partners engaging with us in a sincere manner to try and find an equitable solution," he said. The fight over solar panels is one of the biggest disputes under the decades-old regime of international trade. --Matthew Dalton contributed to this article. Write to Laurence Norman at Laurence.norman@dowjones.com via Science - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNEN0Uby0evTgV6N8O5yvHqf8Oqx-Q&url=http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20130528-702285.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

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